Chapter 130: Black Market, Clues

At the entrance of the courtyard stood two burly men. The two looked fierce and malicious, like two door gods standing there, enough to make ordinary people look on with fear!

As soon as the group appeared, they were stopped by the two.

"Do you have a pass?" one of the big men glared, asking without a hint of emotion.

Xia Zhiqiu was clearly prepared; he took out a special gold-rimmed black card from his pocket and handed it over.

After the two checked it and found no errors, they let them pass.

The group followed Xia Zhiqiu through the gate of the courtyard, and what came into view was a huge square, and behind the square was a row of storefronts.

There were a great many mercenaries conducting transactions here.

"This is the black market?" The group looked around curiously.

These storefronts were varied, trading weapons, buying and selling pills, and even processing strange beast carcasses, etc. —everything one could expect to find.

The square was equally lively, with people trading privately everywhere. However, this required following the rules of the black market, which meant 20% of the transaction amount had to be handed over.

"It's not as chaotic as I imagined here," Zhao Mingze muttered in a low voice.

"The big boss behind this black market is a Grandmaster, so naturally, no one dares to cause trouble here. However, once you leave here, you'd better be careful."

Xia Zhiqiu reminded the group again: "These mercenaries lick blood off the edge of a knife all year round and have absolutely no moral bottom line. They bully the weak, the law of the jungle prevails, and they even commit murder and arson. So, you'd better try to enter and exit the black market as little as possible. Once you are targeted, there will be no end to the trouble."

Chen Fan looked around, and sure enough, as Xia Zhiqiu said, there were quite a few mercenaries quietly sizing them up.

Du Huajun, who was on the side, was unimpressed. He snorted coldly and glared fiercely back at those people.

The strength of these people was mostly around Tier 3 or Tier 4, and Du Huajun himself was at the early Tier 4 stage, with combat power reaching the late Tier 4 stage. With his strength, he naturally wouldn't be afraid.

Chen Fan felt a bit helpless; this senior brother was indeed of an impulsive nature! He tugged on Du Huajun's arm to signal him to restrain himself a bit. After all, they had a more important mission on this trip, and these small fries weren't worth wasting too much energy on.

Xia Zhiqiu pointed to the storefront in the middle, directly opposite the square, and said: "The Task Pavilion is specifically for posting tasks. This morning, I posted a task to inquire about news of Mo the Divine Doctor. Let's go see if there are any gains."

The group walked into the shop. It was extremely quiet, and behind the counter was only a short, old man who was closing his eyes and resting.

And on the wall behind the old man, there were long, strip-shaped signs hanging all over.

Recorded on the signs were information such as a certain task, what the reward was, and so on.

Xia Zhiqiu knocked on the table in front of the little old man to wake him up.

"Boss Li, has anyone claimed my task?"

The little old man was originally a bit displeased, but after seeing who it was, he immediately changed his face.

"Haha, so it's Great Instructor Xia, excuse my lack of respect."

After being polite, he pointed to a wooden sign behind him and said: "This Mo the Divine Doctor is like a dragon that shows its head but not its tail; everyone wants to know his whereabouts, but how many can get their wish?"

"Hasn't anyone asked about it?" Xia Zhiqiu was a bit unwilling to give up. He had set the reward for this task extremely high; providing a clue would earn 200,000, and if one gave the exact location directly, they could take away 2 million in cash!

"It's not that no one has asked; a little girl did ask about it," the little old man said leisurely after lighting a cigarette.

"Then what did she ask? Did she provide any clues?" Du Huajun had the most impatient temperament; he squeezed to the very front of the counter and asked eagerly.

"She was just curious and asked who posted the task, and then there was nothing else."

Out of curiosity? The group was a bit disappointed, but Chen Fan began to ponder slightly.

He didn't think this person asked just out of curiosity. After all, in today's fast-paced society, people generally don't ask about things that have nothing to do with them.

Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean that this person definitely knows something; perhaps she was just one of the many people looking for Mo Yichen.

"Boss, what is this person's name? Do you know?" Chen Fan asked politely.

The old man flicked the cigarette held between his fingers and feigned hesitation, saying: "Young man, you are making it a bit difficult for me. Protecting the privacy of the employer is the rule of the black market. You are trying to make me break the rules."

How could Chen Fan not understand what this person meant? He said straightforwardly: "Tell me, how much money!"

"The young man has quite a bit of wisdom! A flat price of 200,000!"

"200,000?! Why don't you go rob someone, damn it!" Before Chen Fan could say anything, Du Huajun was the first to get angry!

"Then you can also choose not to ask," the old man curled his lips in disdain, not afraid at all.

"I think you are looking for a beating!" Du Huajun pushed the counter in front of him aside and reached for the old man's collar.

The group was shocked, and Xia Zhiqiu hurriedly stopped him.

"Junior brother, causing trouble is not allowed here!"

The old man stubbed out the cigarette butt, stood up, and pointed angrily at Du Huajun: "What? You still want to make a move on me? Do you believe that you won't be able to walk out of Tianshan City alive!"

Xia Zhiqiu hurriedly apologized while transmitting his voice to the group: "This old man is the own uncle of the Grandmaster behind this black market. Let's just calm down here."

"No wonder an ordinary old man dares to be so calm in a place where mercenary groups gather!" The group understood.

Xia Zhiqiu took out another card and handed it over: "Boss Zhang, please calm your anger. This is 200,000. I hope you can tell us about the situation of that little girl!"

"For the sake of Great Instructor Xia, I'll let it slide this time. Don't let me see this rude kid again in the future!" After the old man took the bank card, he was still a bit indignant.

But he also knew Xia Zhiqiu's reputation. As the most promising teacher at Kunlun University, advancing to Grandmaster was a certainty, so he wouldn't be stupid enough to be overly calculating.

"Gao Yuan, Mingze, you guys go out and stroll around with Senior Brother Du first. Xia and I will just stay here." Chen Fan dismissed the group and asked politely:

"Boss Zhang, I hope you can tell us about the situation of that girl."

The little old man pointed to a wooden sign behind him: "That is the task she posted. The name she left with me is Lin Shiyou. Of course, it might be an alias, but this girl has a lively appearance, wears twin ponytails, and is about your age. It should be easy to inquire about."

"Lin Shiyou?" After Chen Fan pondered slightly, he looked up at the wooden sign. The task was to find a Purple Spider Flower, and the reward was 1 million.

"Purple Spider Flower? What is this?" Chen Fan was a bit puzzled. He wanted to find clues about that girl from this task.

Du Huajun explained on the side: "The Purple Spider Flower looks like a spider; it is a poisonous flower, extremely poisonous! Strange beasts below Tier 4 will die if they eat it. Generally, it has no medicinal value."

"Since it's useless, why is she looking for this thing?"

Just as Chen Fan was pondering, the little old man spoke again:

"By the way, she just left here not long ago. If you chase after her now, you might still be able to find her." ===== CHAPTER 131 =====